The richest Americans' share of national income has hit a postwar record, surpassing the highs reached in the 1990s bull market, and underlining the divergence of economic fortunes blamed for fueling anxiety among American workers.

The wealthiest 1% of Americans earned 21.2% of all income in 2005, according to new data from the Internal Revenue Service. That is up sharply from 19% in 2004, and surpasses the previous high of 20.8% set in 2000, at the peak of the previous bull market in stocks.

The bottom 50% earned 12.8% of all income, down from 13.4% in 2004 and a bit less than their 13% share in 2000.

How's the economy in the different areas where TVNL members live? Has the housing slump effected any other businesses in your area? Have you heard of any realty offices shutting their doors? Has the price of gas been an indicator of things to come in your area?

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"Behind every great fortune lies a great crime."Honore de Balzac

"Democrats work to help people who need help. That other party, they work for people who don't need help. That's all there is to it."~Harry S. Truman

It is definitely a buyers market in Ohio. People are losing their homes faster than they can sell them.

Gas is still hovering around $3.20 a gallon but I was told by an attendant it was going up to $4.50 a gal. this week. Channel 7 news said this morning he had bad news for the tri-state area - gas was going up to $5.00 a gal.!

I know everyone seems to be in a funk. No one can get ahead. I make a decnt living but I can't save a dime.

Many can't afford to go anywhere or do anything. Can't pay the electric bills or afford food. I am afraid the elderly is going to have to choose between heat or food this winter.

It is definitely a buyers market in Ohio. People are losing their homes faster than they can sell them.

Gas is still hovering around $3.20 a gallon but I was told by an attendant it was going up to $4.50 a gal. this week. Channel 7 news said this morning he had bad news for the tri-state area - gas was going up to $5.00 a gal.!

I know everyone seems to be in a funk. No one can get ahead. I make a decnt living but I can't save a dime.

Many can't afford to go anywhere or do anything. Can't pay the electric bills or afford food. I am afraid the elderly is going to have to choose between heat or food this winter.

If you keep complaining, the neocons may install their brand of gov in your state.

here in central pa gas prices are in the definit gouge range of 3.10 per gal.

my sister has had her house up for sale since beginning of summer. it isn't moving at the price they are asking for. they've already bought another house expecting that thiers would have sold by now. kinda my bro inlaws logic which i would've advised against. they don't watch too much news and if they do it's foxnoise channel that spins the garbage that everything is rosy with the economy. they are staunch repugs. now they are stuck.

I thought I'd never see a housing slump in my area, but it's happening. A few new houses are going up, but not many are being sold. The local papers show photos of houses for sale with their prices slashed. Realtors are scared shitless, and a few offices are no longer doing business. I see realtors working at Lowe's and Home Depot.

Gas is hovering around $3.10 a gallon, and there are rumors that it's going to $5.00 a gallon by summer of 2008.

But people are still driving like mad, Wal-Mart is filled to the brim, and those with whom I have contact talk about all the stuff they're buying the kiddies for Xmas!

_________________

"Behind every great fortune lies a great crime."Honore de Balzac

"Democrats work to help people who need help. That other party, they work for people who don't need help. That's all there is to it."~Harry S. Truman

Nov. 12,2007 - Purple Tang said:= If you keep complaining, the neocons may install their brand of gov. in your state.

Ques. 1 - Can you define the word may? The Republican Party has held the greater # of key positions in almost all of our 50 states for the past 12 years and in all 3 branches of the Federal Government, until this last election. I have yet to see the newly elected Democrats do a job they were elected to do. Maybe they have bought into the Republican philosophical cure all (ONE WORLD ORDER or ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT)
for the entire world. Perhaps they are cowards in the truest form. Perhaps they have been convinced "its all going to happen - play along and get a good position to the good life."
My personal defination of either of the above is: Allow no country or nation live according to their laws - make more severe slaves out of the entire population throughout the whole world forcing them to cow-toe to the elite and rich society only.

Ques-2 - Just how long do you think this NEW WORLD ORDER concept has been in the making? Mikhail Gorbachev was the first world leader to come out publicly with talk of a new world order on Dec. 7, 1988 in his address to the United Nations.
About 12 years later, George Bush Sr. jumped on the wagon and before leaving for Helsinki, Finland in early Sept. 1990 to discuss the Persian Gulf crisis, at a summit meeting with Gorbachev, expressed the hope that the foundation for the New World Order would be laid in Helsinki.
Then supposedly in 1993, the New World Order was established as a legitimate national agenda by a Democrat, Bill Clinton. Understand we cannot always buy into anothers opinion and anything we read is full of the authors personal opinion. That is one reason I believe very little of anyone's opinion except my own.

Ques- 3 - If you have a solution to this mess we all have gotten ourselves into - please share it with the rest of us. Besides complaining what else
can we do to correct it?????????

Nov. 12,2007 - Purple Tang said:= If you keep complaining, the neocons may install their brand of gov. in your state.

Ques. 1 - Can you define the word may? The Republican Party has held the greater # of key positions in almost all of our 50 states for the past 12 years and in all 3 branches of the Federal Government, until this last election. I have yet to see the newly elected Democrats do a job they were elected to do. Maybe they have bought into the Republican philosophical cure all (ONE WORLD ORDER or ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT)for the entire world. Perhaps they are cowards in the truest form. Perhaps they have been convinced "its all going to happen - play along and get a good position to the good life."My personal defination of either of the above is: Allow no country or nation live according to their laws - make more severe slaves out of the entire population throughout the whole world forcing them to cow-toe to the elite and rich society only.

Ques-2 - Just how long do you think this NEW WORLD ORDER concept has been in the making? Mikhail Gorbachev was the first world leader to come out publicly with talk of a new world order on Dec. 7, 1988 in his address to the United Nations.About 12 years later, George Bush Sr. jumped on the wagon and before leaving for Helsinki, Finland in early Sept. 1990 to discuss the Persian Gulf crisis, at a summit meeting with Gorbachev, expressed the hope that the foundation for the New World Order would be laid in Helsinki.Then supposedly in 1993, the New World Order was established as a legitimate national agenda by a Democrat, Bill Clinton. Understand we cannot always buy into anothers opinion and anything we read is full of the authors personal opinion. That is one reason I believe very little of anyone's opinion except my own.

Ques- 3 - If you have a solution to this mess we all have gotten ourselves into - please share it with the rest of us. Besides complaining what else can we do to correct it?????????

I posted the 'Razz' emoticon to show that it was indeed a razz.

My theory on the impotent democrats is that many are either members of a semi-secretive elite group or they have met the approval of this group.

As I recall the 2006 democratic campaign was essentially led by one person who helped select the politicians from the ground up. Not one renegade. Not one real leader in the bunch. Curious indeed.

I would bet good money that Pelosi is a member of this organization. She is such a lap dog for the PNAC.

The nation has been hi jacked by nefarious leadership. Pure and simple. Thye have tentacles in all key areas of intelligence, enforcement, investigation, banking, energy, military, counter-intelligence (the greater part of intelligence really)...you name it.

People are greedy. Many will compromse their principles for the promise of a better life. National leadership that is steered by ethics rather than greed is the exception. I would say this trend extends below the national level as well.

As I recall the 2006 democratic campaign was essentially led by one person who helped select the politicians from the ground up. Not one renegade. Not one real leader in the bunch. Curious indeed.

I would bet good money that Pelosi is a member of this organization. She is such a lap dog for the PNAC.

If any one person had the greatest influence on selecting Democratic candidates fron the ground up in 2006, it was Howard Dean, not Nancy Pelosi.

For one, Senator Jim Webb has shown a great deal of courageous leadership.

Don't you think you are being a little hard on a bunch of freshmen Congressmen and Senators in their first year in office? How much leadership and influence do most freshmen show as soon as they take office? I imagine you suffer from the delusion that a few freshmen Democrats would immediately turn back the tidal wave of Republican depridations, even though they are far short of a veto proof majority, and do not have enough votes to stop the constant Republican filibusters.

Please read this interview with John Dean, author of Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches, then you can go back to ignoring the fact that it is the Republicans who are obstructing all progress.